Capital pols roundly criticize Blago for making Senate appointment

Doug Finke

Wednesday

Dec 31, 2008 at 12:01 AMDec 31, 2008 at 5:34 PM

Springfield-area lawmakers from both parties again found common ground Tuesday in opposing Gov. Rod Blagojevich, saying he should not have appointed anyone to fill President-elect Barack Obama’s vacant U.S. Senate seat.

Springfield-area lawmakers from both parties again found common ground Tuesday in opposing Gov. Rod Blagojevich, saying he should not have appointed anyone to fill President-elect Barack Obama’s vacant U.S. Senate seat.

“The legislature expressed the view that the governor should not make an appointment under the circumstances,” said Rep. Gary Hannig, D-Litchfield. “Once again, the governor is thumbing his nose at the people and doing what he wants.”

“I think it’s almost a perfect paradigm of his so-called leadership style the last six years,” said Rep. Jim Watson, R-Jacksonville. “There’s always an element of conflict in everything he’s done. It’s OK to stir the pot a little bit, but he takes it to an extreme that is not productive.”

Some Republicans were quick to seize the political angle, blaming Democrats for not passing a bill calling for a special election to fill the Senate seat. Democrats initially embraced the idea, then backed off. Some said it was because a special election would cost millions of dollars. Critics, though, charged the Democrat about-face was more about fear they could lose the seat to a Republican in an election.

The GOP, meanwhile, became the leading cheerleaders for a special election.

“We screwed up Dec. 15,” said Rep. Raymond Poe, R-Springfield. “We should have voted to have the election. Now the Democrats wish they had reached a consensus. The Democratic Party had a chance to get this cleared up.”

With U.S. Senate Democratic leadership saying they will refuse to seat any Blagojevich appointee, Sen. Larry Bomke, R-Springfield, questioned the point of the governor’s selection of Roland Burris to fill the Senate seat.

“It does appear as if the appointment is for no reason,” Bomke said. “I am really surprised Roland accepted the appointment. Anybody Blagojevich appoints will be stained. I really would have thought he would have turned it down.”

Sen. John Sullivan, D-Rushville, again called on Blagojevich to either resign or at least step aside until his legal problems are resolved.

“I think this was a bad decision,” Sullivan said. “This governor has pretty much lost all credibility in the eyes of the public and the U.S. Senate as well. Any steps like this, he has no credibility.”

Rep. Rich Brauer, R-Petersburg, complained that Blagojevich said he would not make an appointment and then made one anyway.

“It’s a little disappointing when the governor makes a comment that he won’t appoint anybody and flip-flops on it,” Brauer said. “How can you be surprised by anything this governor does?”

Doug Finke can be reached at (217) 788-1527.

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